Indie developer pleads for Micro-transactions on Windows Phone 7

WB Games/Kindling Games’ Kristen Bornemann is pleading with Microsoft to make it easier for developers to make money on the Windows Phone 7 platform by enabling micro-transactions for non-Xbox Live developers also. Microsoft has recently made this feature available to Xbox Live developers.

She notes free games with microtransactions are the best at monetizing apps and games on mobile platforms, often leading dedicated players (around 5% of buyers) to spend up to $50 on a game that is supposedly â€œfreeâ€, a far from non-trivial amount of money.

Kristen notes that without this route to monetize apps Microsoft â€œwill continue to lose dedicated developers once they grow beyond â€˜beginner" level.â€™â€

She has a few demands for Microsoft:

Implement micro transactions on both platforms (WP7 and XBLIG)

Improve discoverability in the marketplace on both platforms (this includes getting rid of the monopoly on players that live enabled games have on the Windows Phone 7)

Allow downloadable content on XBLIG

Allow developers to sell their game for free on XBLIG

She notes that without these changes she will no longer support that platform, and many other developers will move to greener pastures.

I know our readers are not generally in favour of micro-transactions, but given that we want developers on the platform, and they are generally in it to make money, should Microsoft make micro-transactions available to all developers? Let us know below.

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